Misc.

I was watching CSI NY, an episode about disc jockeys, and heard the following exchange: DJ: try this music. Mac: No thanks. I prefer Crumb.

Robert Crumb of underground comics? George Crumb of music that sounds like whales? Who writes this stuff?

A friend saves the Arts section of the New York Times for me, and I have read up to March 22. I knew the Merce Cunningham Dance Company was touring just before disbanding. And now there is an item about a set of CDs called Music for Merce consisting of stuff written for Merce Cunningham. For only $118.14 you can buy this on Amazon. It includes lots of experimental music by a number of composers, not just John Cage.

If you have ever witnessed ballet dancers rehearsing, you know that in the corner of the room is a piano and a rehearsal pianist who plays constantly while they dance. Apparently Merce Cunningham didn't do this. The dancers rehearsed with no music at all, and it got added in at the last minute. Everyone dances with a baffled expression on their faces. This explains a lot.